DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Claim(s) 1-2, 5, 9-10, 12, 17-18, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by disclosed prior art DUO et al., US 2020/0235901 A1 (Duo hereinafter).
Here is how the reference teach the claims.
Regarding claim 1, Duo discloses a method, performed by a network node (Fig. 3, “Network device”), for demodulation reference signalling (Duo, paragraph [0011], For ease of understanding and description, a solution of indicating a DMRS antenna port during downlink transmission is used as an example for description below), the method comprising:
transmitting, to a wireless device, control signalling (Duo, Fig. 3 discloses a network device transmitting/sending DCI (i.e., a control signal) to a terminal device. Also see paragraph [0142], A network device generates downlink control information DCI) indicative of layer configuration associated with an upcoming demodulation reference signal (DMRS) (Duo, paragraph [0143], the DCI includes indication information. The indication information indicates at least one demodulation reference signal DMRS antenna port group and layer (layer) information of downlink data (i.e., DCI indicative of configuration of the upcoming layer information of downlink data));
wherein the layer configuration comprises a type of layer (Duo, paragraph [0010], data scheduled by using the DCI is downlink data, and the layer information (i.e., the layer configuration) of the data indicated in the indication information is layer information of the downlink data (i.e., indicating a type of layer));
wherein the type of layer comprises a data layer, and/or an interference layer (Duo, paragraph [0010], data scheduled by using the DCI is downlink data, and the layer information (i.e., the layer configuration) of the data indicated in the indication information is layer information of the downlink data (i.e., indicating a type of layer comprising a data layer)).
Regarding claim 2, Duo discloses wherein the layer configuration comprises a relation between layers and/or a mapping to a DMRS port (Duo, Table 15 which discloses mapping relationship between the DMRS ports and layers of downlink data. Also se paragraph [0286], it can be learned from Table 15 that in the joint transmission scenario, when the quantity of layers of the downlink data is 3, corresponding DMRS antenna ports are antenna ports 7, 9, and 10).
Regarding claim 5, Duo discloses wherein the layer configuration comprises a layer index (Duo, paragraph [0050], the terminal device obtains combination information (for example, 4 layers: DMRS group index 1, 2 layers; DMRS group index 2, 2 layers) corresponding to the first indication information in the DCI that is sent by the network device).
Regarding claim 9, Duo discloses a method, performed by a wireless device (Fig. 3, “Terminal device”), for demodulation reference signalling (Duo, paragraph [0011], For ease of understanding and description, a solution of indicating a DMRS antenna port during downlink transmission is used as an example for description below), the method comprising:
receiving, from a network node, control signalling (Duo, Fig. 3 discloses a network device transmitting/sending DCI (i.e., a control signal) which is received by a terminal device. Also see paragraph [0142], A network device generates downlink control information DCI) indicative of layer configuration associated with an upcoming demodulation reference signal (DMRS) (Duo, paragraph [0143], the DCI includes indication information. The indication information indicates at least one demodulation reference signal DMRS antenna port group and layer (layer) information of downlink data (i.e., DCI indicative of configuration of the upcoming layer information of downlink data));
wherein the layer configuration comprises a type of layer (Duo, paragraph [0010], data scheduled by using the DCI is downlink data, and the layer information (i.e., the layer configuration) of the data indicated in the indication information is layer information of the downlink data (i.e., indicating a type of layer));
wherein the type of layer comprises a data layer, and/or an interference layer (Duo, paragraph [0010], data scheduled by using the DCI is downlink data, and the layer information (i.e., the layer configuration) of the data indicated in the indication information is layer information of the downlink data (i.e., indicating a type of layer)).
Regarding claim 10, Duo discloses wherein the layer configuration comprises a relation between layers and/or a mapping to a DMRS port (Duo, Table 15 which discloses mapping relationship between the DMRS ports and layers of downlink data. Also se paragraph [0286], it can be learned from Table 15 that in the joint transmission scenario, when the quantity of layers of the downlink data is 3, corresponding DMRS antenna ports are antenna ports 7, 9, and 10).
Regarding claim 12, Duo discloses wherein the layer configuration comprises a layer index (Duo, paragraph [0050], the terminal device obtains combination information (for example, 4 layers: DMRS group index 1, 2 layers; DMRS group index 2, 2 layers) corresponding to the first indication information in the DCI that is sent by the network device).
Regarding claim 17, Duo discloses a network node comprising memory circuitry, processor circuitry, and a wireless interface, wherein the network node is configured to perform the method of claim 1 (Duo, paragraph [0100], the network device may further include one or more memories. The memory is configured to: be coupled to the processor, and store a program instruction and data that are necessary for the network device. The one or more memories may be integrated with the processor, or may be separate from the processor. Also see paragraph [0097], The network device provided in this application has a function of implementing behavior of the network device in the foregoing method aspects, and includes a corresponding means (means) configured to perform steps or functions described in the foregoing method aspects).
Regarding claim 18, Duo discloses a wireless device comprising memory circuitry, processor circuitry, and a wireless interface, wherein the wireless device is configured to perform the method of claim 9 (Duo, paragraph [0106], the terminal device may further include one or more memories. The memory is configured to: be coupled to the processor, and store a program instruction and data that are necessary for the base station. The one or more memories may be integrated with the processor, or may be separate from the processor. Also see paragraph [0104], The terminal device provided in this application has a function of implementing behavior of the terminal device in the foregoing method aspects, and includes a corresponding means (means) configured to perform steps or functions described in the foregoing method aspects. The steps or the functions may be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of hardware and software).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Claim(s) 3-4 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over disclosed prior art DUO et al., US 2020/0235901 A1 (Duo hereinafter), as applied to the claims above and further in view of JACOBSSON et al., US 2025/0056556 A1 (Jacobsson hereinafter).
Here is how the references teach the claims.
Regarding claims 3-4 and 11, Duo discloses the method according to claim 1 and the method according to claim 9. Duo does not explicitly disclose the following features.
Regarding claim 3, wherein the type of layer comprises a real-valued layer.
Regarding claim 4, wherein the type of layer comprises a complex-valued layer.
Regarding claim 11, wherein the type of layer comprises a complex-valued layer, and/or a real-valued layer.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g., communication system) Jacobsson discloses a method related to wireless communication system that comprises the following features.
Regarding claim 3, wherein the type of layer comprises a real-valued layer (Jacobsson, paragraph [0025], Particular embodiments include radio resource control (RRC) configuration and signaling for supporting an increased ( e.g., doubled) number of orthogonal DMRS ports in New Radio (NR) uplink and downlink, which enables increased spatial multiplexing (i.e., supporting more simultaneous transmission layers). Specifically, the number of orthogonal DMRS ports is increased through enhanced frequency-domain (real-valued or complex-valued) coding. Also see paragraph [0019], From the transmitter perspective, the number of DMRS ports used for PUSCH transmission coincides with the transmission rank, i.e., one DMRS port per transmitted layer. The DMRS port mapping is signaled to the UE from the gNB via DCI).
Regarding claim 4, wherein the type of layer comprises a complex-valued layer (Jacobsson, paragraph [0025], Particular embodiments include radio resource control (RRC) configuration and signaling for supporting an increased ( e.g., doubled) number of orthogonal DMRS ports in New Radio (NR) uplink and downlink, which enables increased spatial multiplexing (i.e., supporting more simultaneous transmission layers). Specifically, the number of orthogonal DMRS ports is increased through enhanced frequency-domain (real-valued or complex-valued) coding. Also see paragraph [0019], From the transmitter perspective, the number of DMRS ports used for PUSCH transmission coincides with the transmission rank, i.e., one DMRS port per transmitted layer. The DMRS port mapping is signaled to the UE from the gNB via DCI).
Regarding claim 11, wherein the type of layer comprises a complex-valued layer, and/or a real-valued layer (Jacobsson, paragraph [0025], Particular embodiments include radio resource control (RRC) configuration and signaling for supporting an increased ( e.g., doubled) number of orthogonal DMRS ports in New Radio (NR) uplink and downlink, which enables increased spatial multiplexing (i.e., supporting more simultaneous transmission layers). Specifically, the number of orthogonal DMRS ports is increased through enhanced frequency-domain (real-valued or complex-valued) coding. Also see paragraph [0019], From the transmitter perspective, the number of DMRS ports used for PUSCH transmission coincides with the transmission rank, i.e., one DMRS port per transmitted layer. The DMRS port mapping is signaled to the UE from the gNB via DCI).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Duo by using the features, as taught by Jacobsson, in order to support an increased number of demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports in a wireless communication system (see Jacobsson, paragraph [0024]).
Claim(s) 6, 8 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over disclosed prior art DUO et al., US 2020/0235901 A1 (Duo hereinafter), as applied to the claims above and further in view of ELSHAFIE et al., US 2023/0189141 A1 (ElShafie hereinafter).
Here is how the references teach the claims.
Regarding claims 6, 8 and 13, Duo discloses the method according to claim 1 and the method according to claim 9.
Regarding claim 8, Duo further discloses wherein the one or more DMRS are indicative of one or more of: the interference layer and the data layer (Duo, paragraph [0345], The terminal device determines, based on the QCL information and the indication information, whether the indication information is used to indicate the total quantity N of layers of the downlink data and the N non-sequentially numbered DMRS antenna ports corresponding to the sequentially numbered layers (i.e., one or more DMRs are indicative of the data layer) or is used to indicate the total quantity N of layers of the downlink data and the N sequentially numbered DMRS antenna ports corresponding to the sequentially numbered layers includes, and determines, based on the determined indication information, a DMRS antenna port occupied by the downlink data).
Regarding claim 6 and 13, Duo does not explicitly disclose the following features.
Regarding claim 6, the method comprising:
receiving, from the wireless device, information indicative of a capability of the wireless device for supporting the layer configuration.
Regarding claim 13, the method comprising:
transmitting, to the network node, information indicative of a capability of the wireless device for supporting the layer configuration.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g., communication system) ElShafie discloses a method related to wireless communication that comprises the following features.
Regarding claim 6, the method comprising:
receiving, from the wireless device, information indicative of a capability of the wireless device for supporting the layer configuration (ElShafie, paragraph [0092], As further shown in FIG. 5, in some aspects, process 500 may include communicating with the base station using one or more communication parameters (i.e., a wireless device communicate information indicative of its capability with the base station) that are based at least in part on the power saving mode, the one or more communication parameters comprising one or more of: a PDSCH configuration that is based at least in part on the power saving mode, a DCI configuration that is based at least in part on the power saving mode, a DMRS configuration that is based at least in part on the power saving mode, a TBS configuration that is based at least in part on the power saving mode, a BLER configuration that is based at least in part on the power saving mode, or a layer configuration that is based at least in part on the power saving mode (i.e., based on a layer configuration)).
Regarding claim 13, the method comprising:
transmitting, to the network node, information indicative of a capability of the wireless device for supporting the layer configuration (ElShafie, paragraph [0092], As further shown in FIG. 5, in some aspects, process 500 may include communicating with the base station using one or more communication parameters (i.e., a wireless device communicate information indicative of its capability with the base station) that are based at least in part on the power saving mode, the one or more communication parameters comprising one or more of: a PDSCH configuration that is based at least in part on the power saving mode, a DCI configuration that is based at least in part on the power saving mode, a DMRS configuration that is based at least in part on the power saving mode, a TBS configuration that is based at least in part on the power saving mode, a BLER configuration that is based at least in part on the power saving mode, or a layer configuration that is based at least in part on the power saving mode (i.e., based on a layer configuration)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Duo by using the features, as taught by ElShafie, in order to support base station to realize power saving mode (see ElShafie, abstract and paragraph [0004]).
Claim(s) 7 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over disclosed prior art DUO et al., US 2020/0235901 A1 (Duo hereinafter), as applied to the claims above and further in view of Yu et al., US 2023/0208594 A1 (Yu hereinafter).
Here is how the references teach the claims.
Regarding claims 7 and 14, Duo discloses the method according to claim 1 and the method according to claim 9. Duo does not explicitly disclose the following features.
Regarding claim 7, the method comprising:
generating, based on the layer configuration, one or more DMRS.
transmitting, to the wireless device, the one or more DMRSs.
Regarding claim 14, the method comprising:
receiving, from the network node, one or more DMRS generated based on the layer configuration.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g., communication system) Yu discloses a method related to wireless communication system that comprises the following features.
Regarding claim 7, the method comprising:
generating, based on the layer configuration, one or more DMRS (Yu, paragraph [0124], The receiving device receives the first DMRS from the first DMRS port by using the first time-frequency resource, and receives the second DMRS from the second DMRS port by using the second time-frequency resource (i.e., receiving device receives one or more DMRS generated by the sending device). Also see paragraph [0092], In a case of a plurality of layers of orthogonal DMRS ports are multiplexed (i.e., different DMRS is generated based on an overlay configuration), in frequency domain, different DMRS ports are divided into different code division multiplexing (code division multiplexing, CDM) groups (group). DMRS ports in a same CDM group are expanded in the time domain and frequency domain by using an orthogonal cover code (orthogonal cover code, OCC), and orthogonality of different DMRS ports may be ensured, thereby improving accuracy of channel estimation).
transmitting, to the wireless device, the one or more DMRSs (Yu, paragraph [0111], The sending device (i.e., a network node in case of downlink communication) may send the first DMRS from the first DMRS port by using the first time-frequency resource. In addition, the sending device or another device other than the sending device may send the second DMRS from the second DMRS port by using the second time-frequency resource. Also see paragraph [0109], When the communication method is applied to the uplink communication, the sending device may be the terminal device 102 in FIG. 5. When the communication method is applied to the downlink communication, the sending device may be the network device 101 in FIG. 5).
Regarding claim 14, the method comprising:
receiving, from the network node, one or more DMRS generated based on the layer configuration (Yu, paragraph [0124], The receiving device receives the first DMRS from the first DMRS port by using the first time-frequency resource, and receives the second DMRS from the second DMRS port by using the second time-frequency resource (i.e., receiving device receives one or more DMRS generated by the sending device). Also see paragraph [0092], In a case of a plurality of layers of orthogonal DMRS ports are multiplexed (i.e., different DMRS is generated based on an overlay configuration), in frequency domain, different DMRS ports are divided into different code division multiplexing (code division multiplexing, CDM) groups (group). DMRS ports in a same CDM group are expanded in the time domain and frequency domain by using an orthogonal cover code (orthogonal cover code, OCC), and orthogonality of different DMRS ports may be ensured, thereby improving accuracy of channel estimation).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Duo by using the features, as taught by Yu, in order to reduce inter-layer interference between DMRS ports caused by an excessively large quantity of transmission layers between a terminal device and a network device (see Yu, abstract and paragraph [0006]).
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over disclosed prior art DUO et al., US 2020/0235901 A1 (Duo hereinafter), in view of ELSHAFIE et al., US 2023/0189141 A1 (ElShafie hereinafter), as applied to the claims above and further in view of Yamada et al., US 2021/0175937 A1 (Yamada hereinafter).
Here is how the references teach the claims.
Regarding claim 15, Duo and ElShafie disclose the method according to claim 8. Duo and ElShafie do not explicitly disclose the method comprising:
determining, based on the layer configuration, inter-user interference parameters from the one or more DMRS.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g., communication system) Yamada discloses a wireless communication system that comprises the method comprising:
determining, based on the layer configuration, inter-user interference parameters from the one or more DMRS (Yamada, paragraph [0191], In a case that multi-user MIMO transmission (MUST or NOMA) is configured, the base station apparatus can transmit, in the DCI, interference signal information for removing or suppressing inter-user
interference. The interference signal information included in the DCI includes some or all of the presence of the interference signal, a modulation scheme for the interference signal, DMRS port numbers for the interference signal, the number of DMRS CDM groups with no data for the interference signal, the power ratio between the DMRS and the PDSCH, the number of symbols for the front-loaded DMRS, the information indicating the OCC=2 or 4, and the PT-RS information of the interference signal. The multi-user MIMO can be multiplexed up to eight layers for the DMRS configuration type 1 and up to 12 layers for the DMRS configuration type 2 (i.e., determining inter-user interference parameter from DMRS base on the layer configuration)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Duo and ElShafie by using the features, as taught by Yamada, in order to provide a method in which reliability, frequency efficiency, or throughput can be improved in a case that transmission is performed based on beam forming (see Yamada, abstract and paragraph [0006]).
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over disclosed prior art DUO et al., US 2020/0235901 A1 (Duo hereinafter), in view of ELSHAFIE et al., US 2023/0189141 A1 (ElShafie hereinafter), as applied to the claims above and further in view of Yu et al., US 2023/0208594 A1 (Yu hereinafter).
Here is how the references teach the claims.
Regarding claim 16, Duo and ElShafie disclose the method according to claim 8. Duo and ElShafie do not explicitly disclose the method comprising: determining, based on the layer configuration and the one or more DMRSs, one or more channel estimation parameters, obtaining demodulated data, based on the one or more channel estimation parameters.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g., communication system) Yu discloses a method related to wireless communication system that comprises the method comprising:
determining, based on the layer configuration and the one or more DMRSs, one or more channel estimation parameters, obtaining demodulated data, based on the one or more channel estimation parameters (Yu, paragraph [0087], An antenna port corresponding to a DMRS may be referred to as a DMRS port, and the receiving device may obtain channel information of the antenna port through estimation based on the DMRS. When the receiving device is the base station, the base station may perform data demodulation on a physical uplink shared channel (physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH) based on a channel estimation result. When the receiving device is the terminal device, the terminal device performs data demodulation on a physical downlink shared channel (physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH) based on the channel estimation result. Also see paragraph [0088], in a mobile communication network, DMRSs of a plurality of layers of DMRS ports may be orthogonal, to simultaneously send information to the receiving device by using the plurality of layers of DMRS ports).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Duo and ElShafie by using the features, as taught by Yu, in order to reduce inter-layer interference between DMRS ports caused by an excessively large quantity of transmission layers between a terminal device and a network device (see Yu, abstract and paragraph [0006]).
Conclusion
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/OBAIDUL HUQ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2473 Dated: 06/25/2026
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